Foot support



Sept. 4, 1951 J. F. RAPISARDA 2,567,028

FooT SUPPORT Filed Jan. 4, 1950 -l-Q' INVENTOR.

022.55m! F. RAP/.SARDA BY /f ,@M'wnw Afro/rivers Patented Sept. 4, 1,951

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Joseph F. Rapisarda, Cleveland, Ohio Application January 4, 1950, Serial No. 136,727

-This invention relates to improvements in an insole designed to be used beneath the human foot in a shoe or the like.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a novel insole having a specific relationship with the bones of the foot of the wearer so that support is supplied beneath the bones in a very specific manner which has been shown to provide greater comfort and greater benefit to the foot than other devices of a similar character.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a raised flat support extending entirely across the foot from a position slightly in front of the rear edge of the cuboid bone and extending forwardly to a curved line llying just back of the metatarsal heads.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel insole for supplying support beneath the arch of the foot and specifically to the cuboid bone in such a way that it tightens the arch so that it will better support the weight of the body.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel insole adapted to support the arch of the foot from the metatarsal stems justback of the metatarsal heads and rearwardly to a line extending laterally across the foot beneath the cuboid bone.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and description and the essentialv features will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a perspective View of an insole constructed according to my invention; y

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the insole in proper position beneath the bones of the foot so as to indicate the proper positioning of the insole with respect to the bones;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the device of Fig. 2 positioned relative to the bones of the foot and with the eshy portion of the foot indicated in dot-dash lines; while Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

In Figs. 2 and 3, I have indicated the bones of the foot which are involved in this discussion as follows:

T is the main leg bone or tibia,

OC is the os calcis,

A is the astragalus,

S is 'the scaphoid,

IC is the internal cuneiform,

MC is the middle euneiform,

EC is theexternal cuneiform,

Cis the cuboid, and i IM, 2M, 3M, 4M and 5M designate respectively the first, second, third, fourth and fth metatarsals.

1 Claim. (Cl. 36-71) Av common foot ailment and one which my insole isv designed to treat is commonly known as fiat-foot. In this condition of the foot there is inward rotation of the superior portion of the os calcis. The upper border of the astragalus is tilted medial-ward and the inner border is lower than the outer so that the weight strikes it a glancing instead of a square blow. There is a gaping of the bones on the inner border of the foot, namely, the scaphoid, os calcis, astragalus, and internal cuneiform. There is compression of the'bones on the outer border of the foot, namely, the cuboid, os calcis and astragalus. The bones of the mid-tarsal region, especially the scap'hoid and the internal and middle cuneiforms, are rotated downward and inward. Since the ligaments no longer hold up the longitudinal arch o'f the foot, this arch becomes flattened and the bony parts thereof are no longer held tightly together. The longitudinal arch is made up of medial and lateral columns. The medial column consists of the os calcis, astragalus, scaphoid, the three cuneiforms, and the first, second and third metatarsals. The lateral column consists of the os calcis, the cuboid, and the fourth and fifth metatarsals.

I have discovered that the best way to support the longitudinal arch so as to restore it to its original condition is by applying pressure beneath the cuboid bone near the ,center of the arch and by applying pressure tothe metatarsal stems just back of the metatarsal heads. In this manner I am enabled to take the severe pressure off of the metatarsal heads which is a source of great discomfort to a person having flat feet, or one having bony metatarsals, and to relieve the pressure on the os calcis which is another source of diiiiculty to the person having flat feet as will presently appear. It would be impossible, Without great expense to the patient, to personally nt an insole to each foot. I have found, however, that a relatively inexpensive insole can be made out of flat material of a uniform lthickness and arranged insuch a way that this material applies pressure at the. rear beneath the cuboid bone and pressure at the front beneath the metatarsal bones just back of the heads.

To the accomplishment of the above purpose, I have provided the insole IU having a forward portion of uniform thickness II and a rearward portion of uniform thickness I2 which are smoothly joined together by an inclined portion I3. The raised forward portion provides a plateau I4 bounded at the rear by a straight line I5 extending laterally across the foot and bounded at the front by a curved line I6 which, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, carries the plateau I4 to a position just back of each of the metatarsal heads on the ve metatarsal bones. Forwardly of the line I6, there is provided a downwardly sloping surface I'I which preferably is slightly convex upwardly as indicated at I8 in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 may be somewhat confusing unless compared with Fig. 2. For instance, the point I9 will apply pressure just back of the metatarsal head of IM while the point 20 will apply pressurejust back of the metatarsal head of 2M. The surface sloping away at I'I thus provides room for the metatarsal heads which extend downwardly along this slope, substantially free of pressure. Bony metatarsals, Where there is little or no cushion beneath the heads, can be very painful. My insole is the only one known to me which removes most of the body weight from all ve of the metatarsal heads.

The rear portion of the insole provides a lower plateau 2I which gives a pad beneath the heel. This portion is bounded at its forward edge by a line 22 substantially parallel to the line I5 and is bounded at its rear by a curved edge 23 substantially conforming to the rear of the heel of a shoe so as to properly position the insole. The platform I4 is high enough to greatly relieve the pressure of the heel on the platform 2l.

I have found that the best position for the line I is about one-third to one-fourth of the way forward from the rear end of the cuboid bone. In a like fashion, I have found that the best position for the line 22 is about one-fifth to onesixth of the way back from the front edge of the os calcis. These positions are clearly indicated in Fig. 2.

The cuboid bone on the Youtside of the foot is nearer the surface upon which the sole of the foot rests than the scaphoid bone on the inside of the foot. Many insoles try to apply a lifting pres- Vsure for lifting the longitudinal arch beneath the scaphoid bone. This is painful if suiicient pressure is applied because there is considerable esh between the scaphoid bone and the insole on that side of the foot. Also, there are blood vessels in the flesh on the inside of the foot and pressure there is painful. There is much less flesh between the cuboid bone and the insole on the outer side of the foot and this consists almost entirely of fatty cushion. This is where my insole applies the greatest pressure.

I have mentioned previously that one of the advantages of my improved insole was that it relieved the pressure from the os calcis. This is of great importance in the treatment of spurs. The plantar longus ligament is attached to the tuberosity of the os calcis. In the flat-foot condition, if the pronated foot is not supported, this ligament pulls on its attachments and a slight separation or pulling off of the periosteum at this point will result. As the periosteum separates, under certain conditions proliferation of the osteogenetic layers occurs and new bone is formed resulting in the production of a spur. Spurs and bursae may also be caused by trauma and in other ways. By using the plateau I4 to take pressure off the heel, by the use of my insole alone, without other treatment, I have been able to cause the disappearance of such spurs and bursae and to prevent their reoccurrence. Use of my insole prevents injury, by trauma, t0 the rounded plantar aspect of the os calcis.

I iind that the best material of which to make my improved insole I8 is of rm but slightly resilient material. In other words, completely rigid material is ohiectionable and too soft material will not give the support desired. One

sort of material which is approximately satisfactory is laminated rubber belting. I prefer, however, to use a very rm type of foam rubber. A known method of testing such foam rubber for firmness is known as an RMA Foam Latex Sponge Rubber Compression Tester made by The Henry L. Scott Company, of Providence, Rhode Island. Material testing from forty to sixty on such a tester is known as firm. This material can be used for my insole but is not quite rm enough. Material testing on the above mentioned tester from sixty to eighty-five is known as extra rm and is quite satisfactory for producing my insole. testing up to one hundred or one hundred and ten on the above mentioned sponge rubber compression tester is satisfactory for use in my' insole.

For simplicity in Fig. 3, I have shown the foot and insole as resting upon a flat surface. I am aware that insoles are used under varying conditions, some of which include relatively at supporting surfaces and other of which call for various shapes of the soles for street shoes, tennis shoes, basketball shoes, womens high heel shoes and various other types of footwear. My invention is adapted for use with any such footwear and obviously the insole and the bones of the foot will follow the contour of the supporting surface with the bones of the foot having the additional support from the plateau I4 and the heel cushion 2| of my improved insole, whatever the position of the parts generally.

I have thus provided a platform I4 extending from a point beneath the cuboid bone to a line just back of the metatarsal heads, and a platform 2l beneath the heel approximately oneeighth inch lower than platform I4.

What I claim is:

A support for the sole of the human foot, said support comprising a platform of substantially uniform thickness extending from'a rear zone, between one-fourth and one-third of the lon. gitudinal extent of the cuboid bone forwardly from the rear end of the cuboid bone, to a forward zone immediately back of the metatarsal heads, said support extending across the sole of the shoe with which it is to be worn, said support at its forward end being curved from a central portion to the sides thereof and having a beveled portion at said forward end extending from one side to the other, the rear portion of said support ending in a, straight edge connected to the support by a beveled portion, and said support being formed of firm foam rubber testing between 60 and 110 on a RMA sponge rubber compression tester.

JOSEPH F. RAPISARDA. Y

REFERENCES CITED The following references are 0f` recordrin the le 0f this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,281,987 McSweeney Oct. 15, 1918 1,336,278 Burns Apr. 6, 1920 1,380,504 Tusis June '7, 1921 1,426,258 Burns Aug. l5, 1922 1,550,715 Stout Aug. 25, 1925 1,775,957 Hassnk Sept. 16, 1930 2,383,583 Becker Aug. 28, 1945 I find that material 

